Dec 22, 2008

Leg I -- La Paz to Bahia ChamelaA Southern Crossing to the Pacific Coast was the itinerary -- 425nm miles across the Sea of Cortez to landfall at Bahia Chamela on the Mexican mainland. As much as enjoyed La Paz, we were looking forward to spending some time in a more tropical setting, particularly one that had even warmer water temperatures. We also wanted to explore a part of Mexico we hadn't visited yet -- the Gold Coast -- with its numerous anchorages and, we hoped, excellent fishing. We chose Bahia Chamela, a location known for its large and beautiful bay and numerous anchoring sites.

We caught a weather window before a semi-screaming Norther promised to kick up some highish winds and uncomfortable waves and had an uneventful passage.

Upon arriving at Chamela, we opted to anchor in the lee of IslaPasavera, which located in the middle of the bay. Beautiful scenery and isolation from some of the very active beach resort activities near PuntaPerula in the northern end of the Bay, resulted in a very satisfying anchorage. PuntaPerula anchorage, while noisy, is, however, definitely more protected from northerly wind and waves. We dingyed to a nice little beach on IslaColorada, but avoided swimming in the area due to direct sighting of an extremely large shark. Landing on the mainland beach proved challenging due to the rather large rollers experienced during our stay. Some white knuckles, wide eyes, lots of bailing, but we remained righted.